Page 19 of I Am the Wild

“You answer my question first,” I counter.

And then I wait. Silently. Eyes on him as he weighs what he wants more.

"There's a lot I'm not telling you, though not by my choice. There is risk with this job. We make enemies. And our latest client is something of a high-profile celebrity in certain circles, and that comes with additional risk."

“Who’s the client?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Your turn, Eve. A deal’s a deal”

I nod. “That it is. Very well. I took the job because everything about who I am changed the night my brother died.”

“From cancer. I was sorry to hear that. My condolences.”

I clear my throat and continue. “He didn’t die of cancer. Not officially,” I say, the words alive in my throat, like bees demanding to be let out. Words I have never spoken to another living person. But words I tell myself every single day.

“My brother, Adam, had cancer, yes. But it was in remission. We were happy. Celebrating. Planning for the future. Or so I thought. I got the call at 4:34 am on Friday the thirteen. No joke. On Friday the thirteen, of all days, I got the call that my brother had died by suicide. He’d gotten the results from his latest scan. The cancer was back. He left me a note explaining it all. How he knew this had already wiped me out financially. How I'd put my career on hold to stay home and take care of him. How my health was going to shit and I needed to take better care of myself.” At this I can’t stop the tears. They flow, and the emotion sticks in my throat as I speak. “As if losing my twin, my best friend, my other half, as if losing him would ever make my life easier in any way at all.”

What I don't say is that I already knew he was dead when the call came in. I had the worst flash of my life that morning. And I knew.

Sebastian doesn't look away from my grief when our eyes meet, and I can see in his eyes that he's known his share, too.

I wipe my tears and calm my breathing, centering myself before I continue. "After that, going back to the life I had before, well, it just seemed pointless. And painful. My brother is everywhere in my old life. There was no aspect of our lives that didn't intersect in some way. I needed something different."

Sebastian lets out a sudden humorless laugh. "You definitely got different."

Our car slows and Lily turns to look at us. "We're here."

I've been so caught up in my story, and in Sebastian, that I failed to notice the scenery around us changing.

We are in the middle of the country, surrounded by the ocean on one side and forest on the other, and there is a house—nay an estate — lit by thousands of candles, with a manicured topiary garden lining the path to the front of an actual castle made of white stone and complete with four towers and several turrets. In the center, above the drawbridge, is a jaw-dropping rose window made of stained glass that shimmers even in the darkness. The castle is surrounded by a moat with koi splashing within.

"This looks like something you'd find in Europe on a tourist to-do list," I say through breathy excitement, momentarily forgetting about my freshly healed leg and Sebastian’s evasiveness. "Is this where I'll be living?"

"It is," Lily says, when Sebastian doesn't answer. "Welcome to your new home, Eve. Welcome to the family."

The Night Estate

There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.

~ Bram Stoker

My spine tinglesthe closer we come to the castle. Lily pulls the limo up to the front and Sebastian lets himself out before the car has hardly had a chance to park. As an afterthought he glances back at me. "Lily will take care of you." Then he leaves, rushing across the small bridge over the moat as if his pants are on fire.

I let myself out as well, and Lily rests her hands on her hips and frowns. "Hey, that's my job!"

"Sorry. I'm not used to people opening doors for me."

"You'd better get used to it in your position."

"What? As glorified secretary?" I ask with a not-so-subtle snark in my voice.

Her eyes widen. "You think you're a glorified secretary? Wow, they really haven't told you anything, have they? I'm surprised you took the job with what you know."

"You and me both," I say. "But I needed the money."

She nods. "I get it. Oh, your stuff arrived earlier today. It's all been taken to your suite."

"I have a suite?" I ask.